Gartmore House

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gartmore House is a country house and estate in the village of Gartmore, Stirling, Scotland. It was built in the mid-18th century for the Graham family. William Adam prepared plans for Nicol Graham in the 1740s, but according to Historic Scotland, it is doubtful that he designed the house as built.^[1] The house was enlarged by John Baxter Junior in 1779-80.^[1]

Gartmore became the home of Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (1852-1936) in the late 19th century. He sold the estate in 1900 to pay death duties. The estate was then bought by Sir Charles Cayzer. It was partly redesigned by David Barclay, a student of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who added the tower, altered the roof and redesigned the western front, in 1901-1902.^[1]

The house was commandeered by the Army in the 1940s, and became a barracks until 1950. After the war, the Cayzer family did not take the house back and it was sold off in pieces. In 1953, the Archdiocese of Glasgow bought the house to establish St. Ninian's, a list D school run by the De La Salle Brothers, a Roman Catholic religious order.

Between 1983 and 1988 Gartmore House lay dormant, and was then bought by The Way as a European base. From 1995 to 1997 Gartmore House was again empty until it was bought by Peter and Anne Sunderland in conjunction with Cloverley Hall, and became a conference and activity centre. In 2000, Cloverly Hall was bought over and Gartmore House became a charitable trust. Then, in 2004, it was joined with Carberry Tower in East Lothian. Gartmore House is now a conference centre, used by groups including schools, orchestras and religious groups. Recently, the oil fuel system was replaced by a Biomass heating system in an attempt to reduce carbon emissions.^[2] The house is a Category B listed building.^[1]

[edit] References